DWELL Guest Blog: Cisco Brothers' Factory Tour

Cisco Pinedo began making custom pieces for his neighbors when he was in his early twenties out of his garage at his home in South Central Los Angeles. As his business grew, he began buying old abandoned buildings on an industrial strip of Western Ave. in the downtrodden neighborhood where he started out. Cisco Home still makes all their upholstered goods, case goods, and their welded and hand-blown glass lighting in Los Angeles (under the name Cisco Brothers), employing over 100 workers in their factories alone. Every item in the huge range of stylish pieces is made with an eye on sustainability and green practices. 

Cisco is by all accounts an unusual business man. He is the rare kind of boss who is loyal and flexible with his employees. It says a lot that the very first upholsterer Cisco ever hired when he started his business over 20 years ago is still working with him. He also made the all too rare decision to keep the vast majority of his manufacturing stateside. I was fortunate to get a guided tour of Cisco Brothers' factory in South Central Los Angeles this week and I truly was impressed by what I saw. I headed straight from the manufacturing side to the retail side, visiting the showroom in Pasadena. From raw materials to beautiful vignettes, Cisco keeps it locally grown.

All the wood Cisco uses is sustainably harvested or reclaimed. They use FSC certified hardwoods, guaranteeing that all their wood comes from sustainable legal sources

Hand-turned selection of legs!

Sofas in Seattle

EcoBalanza does not just manufacture their simple and handsome upholstered furniture in Seattle. Their commitment is such that they have even developed some of the raw materials in collaboration with local farmers and wool artisan women, as well as local craftspeople (legs, wooden elements). As their name implies, EcoBalanza also takes their environmental stance seriously, using sustainable practices, green manufacturing processes, and utilizing only non-toxic materials. As they say on their site, "Ecobalanza independently manages all aspects: from design to material sourcing to manufacture, to ensure the quality and integrity of every piece our artisans create." Now that's a sofa you can feel good about putting in your home.

The fast and the fabulous

 

With a factory just outside of Dallas, Texas, American Leather has made itself an industry leader, selling their beautiful upholstered goods (now both leather and fabric) in over 650 stores, including Room and Board, Crate and Barrel, Macy’s, and Design Within Reach. It was founded in 1990 with a focus on fast turnaround; like three weeks or less. Manufacturing in the states helps with that, eliminating time consuming shipping across oceans, not to mention giving it a greener carbon footprint. All the pieces shown here are available through American-made furniture supporter, Room & Board.

Sustainably made in South Central

Cisco Pinedo has an amazing touch with furniture. He began making custom pieces for his neighbors when he was in his early twenties out of his garage at his home in South Central Los Angeles and that entrepreneurship has flourished into a thriving business with the help of his family. Cisco Brothers still makes all their upholstered goods in Los Angeles. Every item in the huge range of stylish pieces is made with an eye on sustainability and green practices. You can purchase Cisco Brothers' products directly from one of their eight showrooms or from a variety of dealers. Check here for a retailer close to you.

It doesn't get much bigger than this

Knoll owns and operates four factories in North America: East Greenville, Pennsylvania; Grand Rapids and Muskegon, Michigan; and Toronto, Ontario. They also manufacture some pieces in Italy. So they are not 100% American made, but mostly. And they are such a huge American modern design G-I-A-N-T, we could not ignore them. (They have their own museum. I mean come on.)  Beyond the icons, like the Barcelona chair, Bertoia lounge, Wassily chair, Saarinen table, (the list goes on and on) there are many, MANY other amazing pieces for office or home, even kids spaces. Not to mention textiles!

Red white and GREEN

BKind3, headed up by Carl Gustaffson, has only been in business since 2008. However, in that short time, they have earned lots of recognition for not only making fabulous looking upholstered goods right here in America, but also for their eco-mindedness. Their frames are PlyFrame harvested in US SFI certified forests. Their seating is made in part with soy-based BiOH polyols that leave a smaller environmental footprint than the petroleum materials they replace. They are members of the Sustainable Furnishings Council. They are dedicated, in their own words, to, "Creating eco friendly furniture and jobs in North Carolina." You gotta love that.